Methods of use of antibodies which recognize a protease cleavage site of an LAP fragment of TGF-β

It is an object of the present invention to provide antibodies capable of detecting an active TGF-β generation reaction that is specific to pathogenesis, tissues, or isoforms. The present invention provides antibodies against an LAP fragment (or latent TGF-β) generated as a result of generation of active form of human TGF-β1, human TGOF-β2 and human TGF-β3. The antibodies are able to specifically recognize respective cutting edges within protease cleavage sites existing in the region from the amino acid residue glycine at position 51 to the amino acid residue arginine at position 110 of human TGF-β1, and corresponding regions of human TGF-β2 and human TGF-β3.